The US government targeted Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle in a fresh sanctions list released on March 20, which was followed by the EU adding to its list too. In a separate statement, the US Treasury Department accused Putin directly of corruption.

President Obama on March 20 said the new sanctions against Russians subject the people on the list to travel restrictions and assets in the US will be frozen. Several of the names on the list are big hitters in Russia's political scene.

Vladimir Yakunin is the current chairman of Russian Railways (RZD) and has been overseeing the state investments of some $30bn a year since 2008. He is erudite and had a diplomatic career representing Russia in Brussels. Thought to be a close friend of Putin's, he is from the "St Petersburg circle" and is tipped as a possible future replacement for Putin as president.

Sergei Ivanov is even more senior. A former minister of defence and current head of the presidential administration, he is an all-round political heavyweight. Ivanov nearly became president in 2008 as the main rival to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. He is probably Putin's closest friend in power and the eminence grise behind the throne.

The US has also targeted a troika of businessmen that have all become multi-billionaires thanks to their close ties with Putin.

The Rotenberg brothers, Arkady and Boris, were members of Putin's judo dojo back in the old days, but now run a business empire that is worth billions of dollars and regularly wins lucrative state-sponsored work, such as the development projects for the Sochi Olympics.

Likewise, Gennady Timchenko set up an oil trading company Gunvor that went from nowhere to become one of the biggest commodity traders in the world.

Gunvor quickly and categorically denied the ties: "President Putin has not and never has had any ownership, beneficial or otherwise in Gunvor. He is not a beneficiary of Gunvor or its activities. Any understanding otherwise is fundamentally misinformed and outrageous," Gunvor was reported by Reuters as saying.

Still, Gunvor has had something of a charmed life and sources most of its oil from the state-owned Rosneft oil company that is run by another Putin ally Igor Sechin, who is notable for the absence of his name from the US sanctions list.

Highlighting the pace of change at the moment, before the day was finished Timshenko dropped a small bomb of his own on the market by announcing he was selling his stake in the trading house to his long-time partner Torbjorn TÃ¶rnqvist, "to ensure with certainty the continued and uninterrupted operations of Gunvor Group Ltd's activities."

Other men that could have been there but are not include: Alexei Miller, CEO of Gazprom; German Gref, CEO of Sberbank; and Igor Kostin, CEO of VTB bank. Attacking these men and their companies is harder, as all four companies are listed on international stock markets and foreign investors are heavily exposed to both their stocks and their business.

Both Yury Kovalchuk and the bank he founded Bank Rossia were also included on the list. Bank Rossia has $10bn in assets and is believed by the US to be used by senior members of the Russian government as their main instrument for moving their personal money about. The ban on Bank Rossia is clearly an attempt to strike at the elite's wealth.

Russia's Foreign Ministry responded to the US list almost immediately and said it would "hit the US like a boomerang." The Russian Duma had their own list of Americans that will now be barred from Russia ready that includes John Boehner, speaker of the US House of Representatives, Robert Menendez, head of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, senators John McCain and Harry Reid and several administration officials.

The EU is next up and added another dozen names to the list at a summit on March 21. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said the individuals on the list represent top officials in the Russian government, Interfax reported. This brings the total number of Russians and Crimeans targeted by the EU in the response to the crisis to 33.

"If the first wave of EU sanctions was greeted with mirth in Moscow, the second will be greeted with outright hilarity. Jon Stewart from the Daily Show must be quaking in his boots now with fear that the Russians might enact retaliatory sanctions. You kind of have to ask yourself why the EU would bother wasting their time debating such a narrow list. If they are not going to do anything, then why waste their time on this kind of stuff - as Von Rompuy said today, its all about the economy," said Tim Ash in a note to clients.

While agreeing toÂ expand theÂ list toÂ include figures closer toÂ Putin would be aÂ step forward, it is aÂ long way short ofÂ the powerful financial andÂ trade sanctions diplomats andÂ analysts say are needed toÂ make Moscow pay attention. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said aÂ discussion ofÂ financial sanctionsÂ - what theÂ EU refers toÂ as phase three ofÂ its responseÂ - would take place atÂ the summit, but no agreement onÂ imposing theÂ measures is expected.

(a.k.a. MIRONOV, Sergei); DOB 14 Feb 1953; POB Pushkin, Saint Petersburg, Russia; Member of the Council of the State Duma; Leader of A Just Russia Party; Member of the State Duma Committee on Housing Policy and Housing and Communal Services (individual) [UKRAINE2].

(a.k.a. RYZHKOV, Nikolai); DOB 28 Sep 1929; POB Duleevka, Donetsk Region, Ukraine; Senator in the Russian Upper House of Parliament; Member of the Committee for Federal Issues, Regional Politics and the North of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation (individual) [UKRAINE2].

SERGUN, Igor Dmitrievich;

DOB 28 Mar 1957; Lieutenant General; Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff (GRU); Deputy Chief of the General Staff (individual) [UKRAINE2].

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